Lights. Camera. Tax relief. Changes demanded for B.C. film industry

VANCOUVER – British Columbia’s New Democratic Party Leader Adrian Dix hopes to land a supporting role in saving the province’s television and film industry.

Dix is in Los Angeles for two days of discussions with studios, producers and filmmakers, to consider how to restore B.C. as a thriving production centre within North America.

His visit comes one day after an estimated 4,000 people rallied Tuesday night at a studio in North Vancouver, demanding Premier Christy Clark’s government overhaul B.C.’s tax incentive system.

Film industry supporters on the West Coast believe enticing tax rebates in other provinces are luring productions away.

Shawn Williamson, a spokesman for Vancouver-based Bright Light Pictures says his company shifted production of a made-for-TV movie from the Lower Mainland to Winnipeg, because he says it is cheaper to shoot in Manitoba.

Television and film projects in British Columbia are credited for creating as many as 85,000 jobs. (The Canadian Press, CKNW)